Not Exactly Blind Optimism
by loganlermen
Summary: Meet Summer Costella. She likes sarcasm, rocky road ice cream and Charms. Oh, and she may or may not be fancying James Potter the second. A story of awkward moments, psycho friends and a set of twins.
1. Chapter 1

"SUMMER! GET UP! NOW!"

Why, isn't my twin sister charming? I burrow my head into the fluffy, heavenly pillow even more. Ahhhhh. Screw lessons—who needed lessons when you have a pillow? Oh, and sleep.

"IT'S BLOODY HALF PAST SEVEN!"

Wait, what?

Holy shit.

I immediately bolt up and run as fast as humanly possible to the bathroom, almost knocking Dom onto the floor and falling flat on my face after tripping over a hairbrush.

I know, I'm SO graceful. Really.

BUT OH MY GOD IT'S SEVEN THIRTY-SOMETHING AND WE HAVE TRANSFIGURATION AT EIGHT O'CLOCK MCGONAGALL IS GOING TO KILL.

Okay, back up.

I'm Summer Costella, I'm fifteen, I'm a fifth year at Hogwarts, Skye is my twin sister, I'm a Gryffie, I suck at Quidditch and my friends think I fancy James Potter II.

(I don't. I swear. I really, really, don't like that prat.)

But I've also known him for the past seven years of my life (along with the rest of the Wotters) and he's funny and charming and attractive enough, I guess.

(Fine. I like him. Tell anyone and I will castrate you. I don't care if you're female.)

Did I mention we're also kind of best mates?

Honestly though. I have no idea what we really are… like we've hung out for the past seven years or so and I've spent my summer holidays at his cousin's house… then my feelings decided to like James maybe a little more than friends BUT HE ACTUALLY HAS NO IDEA.

Mainly because I hide my feelings well enough and he treats me like a sister. Ugh.

Only Skye, Dom and Caitlin know about this though. My little crush, I mean. It's not like I told them or anything, but they know me too well.

Ah yes, Dom. As in Dominique Weasley. Don't call her Dominique or she'll come at you with a knife. She's part-veela so needless to say, she's quite popular with boys.

Caitlin is the smartest one of the bunch. She's a prefect and a perfectionist. Her Ravenclaw boyfriend is literally the male version of her.

But anyway.

Enough of my rambling.

I'M GOING TO BE LATE FOR TRANSFIGURATION AND I DON'T HAVE TOAST OR BUTTER OR BACON OR FOOD IN GENERAL AND FOR SOME REASON I STILL HAVEN'T SHOWERED.

Damn, why won't this door open?!

…Oh right. Caitlin's hogging the bathroom.

Fuck my life.

We manage to get into the classroom before McGonagall loses it and goes psycho on us. Thank Merlin.

"Sorry we're late, Professor." Caitlin pants as she snags a seat in the second row. The rest of us follow suit, muttering apologies as we seat down next to Caitlin.

"So, you guys slept in again?" James asks curiously behind me.

"No, we were baking a cake at eight a.m," Dom snaps, "What do you think, James?"

"Merlin, I was just asking! There's no need to be sassy, Dominique."

"Fuck you. And don't call me Dominique again or I'll hex you later."

"Fine, fine, I'm shutting up now."

I was copying my notes (what? I'm going to land in detention when McGonagall sees I'm not really paying attention) when someone randomly tugged on my ponytail.

Really, James? Playing with my hair?

I whirl around and he grins amusedly at me. Sigh. He's hot when he does that.

Oi, snap out of it, girl.

I was about to open my mouth and retort, but of course I forget Merlin hates me and wishes to humiliate me in whatever way possible.

"Miss Summer Costella, if you wish to converse with Mister James Potter, kindly do it outside my lesson."

And she just HAD to say it right in front of James' many fangirls.

I swear my face is in a violent shade of tomato right now. Very attractive, don't you think?

Caitlin is smirking at me. I glare daggers at her.

James can't stop laughing. He high-fives Fred Weasley under the desk, who winks at me before turning his attention back on Skye.

Oh yeah, did I mention? Freddie boy here likes Skye. A lot. Ever since she poured pumpkin juice on his head in first year. Yeah, Fred's sort of a freak.

And you might say, _oh, then how can they tell you apart? _Here's the thing: Skye has a pink streak in her hair. Other than that, we are completely alike, with the same untamable blonde mess on top of our head we call hair and blue-grey eyes.

While you think having a twin is absolute wonderfulness and all that jazz, it's really not.

Especially when you have a twin who's perfect. She's funny and feisty and popular and a daredevil, she's the Gryffindor chaser, she gets E's and O's on her essays without even trying, and she has one male Weasley chasing after her like a lost puppy. What more do you need, honestly?

And next to her, I'm just her boring twin, the one who likes rocky road ice cream and blue nail polish, who sucks at all kinds of sport and has two left feet.

It's not that she _thinks_ she's better than me, that's not the case at all. She's my best friend and she always will be. It's just that sometimes I just feel overshadowed by her, that's all.

Anyway, it's almost Christmas, and I can't ruin that by wallowing in self-pity. Skye and I are staying over at Dom's again. Caitlin usually comes along but this time she's spending Christmas with her parents. Meanwhile, _my_ parents are off enjoying France, so it's a win-win situation for everyone. I get to spend the holidays with the Wotters (I'm staying at Dom's, remember?) and mum and dad have some time of their own. And by staying at Dom's, I'm going to be seeing a LOT of James this Christmas (insert: excited girly squeal). They _are_ the Potter/Weasley clan, after all.

Which reminds me… Dom and I have to formulate a plan to get Freddie and Skye together this Christmas. I know Skye likes him…er, deep down.

Huh.

Merlin, if looks could kill, Fred would be dead by now.

I guess that's what he gets for chucking rolled up parchment at the back of Skye's head.

I don't understand him, I really don't. He's wasting parchment! I mean, does this bloke actually enjoy seeing Skye's eyes spit fire at his?

Oh wait, he probably _does_.

What a weirdo.

But this is Fred Weasley the second we're talking about, so it's really no surprise.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER.

* * *

"Merlin, would it kill you to stop shoving me?" I mutters darkly as another mob of giggly third years made their way to the Gryffindor bulletin boards to see what day was the Hogsmeade trip on.

I'm pretty sure I was not that annoying when I was thirteen.

Dom, Skye, Caitlin and I were standing off to the sides, impatiently waiting for the crowd to get it over with. Honestly, how much longer did it need to take? You read what date it's on, go back to whatever you're doing and stop. Shoving. People.

Finally, the crowd cleared and we were (finally) free to see the date.

Hmm, it says it's going to be held on the Saturday right before the holidays.

"Brilliant!" Dom claps excitedly, "We can do our Christmas shopping there!"

I raised an eyebrow. "So, no dates for you?"

Dom laughs, linking her arm through mine. "Summer, it's Christmas. Besides, Richard was getting boring anyway…"

Richard Jones was the Hufflepuff Quidditch Captain who had asked Dom out during November. As far as I know, they weren't exactly an item; they were simply going to Hogsmeade trips together. (Which is honestly the same thing, but Dom keeps insisting that he's not her boyfriend.)

Oh well. Dom will be Dom.

"What about you, Caitlin?" Skye asks the only brunette in our group.

"Well… I suppose I'll have to go with you guys. I mean, I have to buy stuff for Michael anyway, and I can't do that by going with him, can I?" Caitlin shrugs.

"Damn right you are!" Dom grins, "I haven't had an all girls day out for a while…"

"And pray tell why is that?" Skye mutters sarcastically, catching my eye and smirking.

"Oh, hush, Skye." Dom singsongs, "You know, you can always quit being a bitter harpy and snog my cousin."

"I dunno, Dom. I don't fancy snogging Rose. Or James. Or Al. Or anyone in your family for that matter."

"Ouch love, it pains my heart to hear you say that." I turn around and see Fred grinning in what he thought must be an alluring way with James lagging behind him.

Skye takes one look at Fred and bursts out laughing. "I'm going to go shower." She says, still chortling.

"Would you look at that?" Fred says after staring at her retreating back delightedly, "She laughed!"

"Well done, mate." James pats his shoulder, obviously trying to contain his laughter.

None of us had the heart to tell him he had pieces of broccoli stuck in his front teeth.

* * *

So days went by, Skye was back to ignoring Fred, Caitlin was still tutoring second years for Transfiguration, and before we knew it, it was time for Hogsmeade.

"DOM PLEASE JUST LET ME FUCKING SLEEP." Skye groans into her pillow that morning.

Skye is a lot of things, but a morning person is obviously not one of those.

"We have Hogsmeade today!" Dom replies cheerily, apparently oblivious to Skye's displeasure of being forced to wake up.

I laugh at Skye's grumpy state, and received a middle finger.

Lovely.

"Dom, leave her be." I sigh, throwing out potential clothes for today.

"You know what? I think I should." Dom frowns at me, eyeing my grey sweater and skinny jeans, "I wanna plan your outfit."

"Thanks, but no thanks, Dom." I say, rolling my eyes, "I don't fancy wearing mini skirts and high heels in the middle of winter."

"Hey! I'm not _that_ ridiculous."

"Dom, shouldn't you be planning your own outfit?" Caitlin asks, bleary-eyed and her hair in a tangled mess.

"I planned it weeks ago. Duh."

"Yeah, _duh_." I emphasize, laughing as I ducked the pillow Dom aimed at me.

"Summer, come on! You never know, we might bump into James and he'll see how gorgeous you really are and ditch his date-"

"He's got a date?" I repeat, already interested.

"Way to go, Dom." Caitlin mutters as she goes to the bathroom.

Dom bites her lip, "Well—yes, I mean, technically, it's a date—but I'm pretty sure they're just friends! They're potion partners, so they might be meeting for a project or something—"

"Oh god. He's going with Charlotte Goldes?" I groan, "Merlin, I should've seen this happening. They were flirting all lesson…"

It was true. I remember James laughing at something Charlotte had said, and they were the only group in the class managed to get an O in their Enlarging Potion.

Meanwhile, my partner exploded the cauldron.

Story of my life.

Dom opened her mouth to say something, but Skye cut her off, "Nah, James probably isn't interested in Charlotte. All the other people who asked James out were probably fangirls. "

"Still…"

"Cheer up, hon." Dom nudges my shoulder with hers, "Who needs boys anyway?"

I smile gratefully at Dom and Skye, but inside my stomach is crawling with jealousy.

The girls and I were just laughing outside Honeydukes when the door opened and out walked James and his Little Miss Perfect.

Charlotte was laughing and playfully messing up his hair, and James was grinning.

Someone kill me now.

I swear, if they come over…

Oh shit.

Caitlin gave my hand a reassuring squeeze as James steered Charlotte over to us.

"Hi!" Charlotte beams at each of us in turn, standing so close to James their shoulders were brushing.

"Hi." We chorused back a little less enthusiastically. Then Dom, ever the subtle one, blurted "So, are you guys dating or what?"

James rolled his eyes good-naturedly, "No, cousin dearest, we're not. I've told you before, I'm not looking for a girlfriend."

"Yeah, because it intervenes with Quidditch." Dom mutters, "I know."

"We just decided to go as friends, since we both have to get Christmas gifts for our family anyway." Charlotte explains.

…Yeah, and I'm pretty sure that's why you were flirting with him.

"Oh? Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but me and my girls are going to Three Broomsticks for some Butterbeer." Dom says, linking her left arm with me.

"Okay, bye!" Charlotte smiles annoyingly again, showing off her gleaming, shiny white teeth.

She's so perfect it's annoying.

"Well, at least that went well enough." Caitlin pats my shoulder, attempting to comfort me after they were gone, "I mean, Charlotte didn't giggle all over the place, did she?"

I sigh heavily, "Charlotte wouldn't, and you know it. She's not part of the giggly clique."

Skye rolls her eyes, "Seriously, Summer, James isn't worth your moping. I know he's a Potter and he's a Quidditch star and all that, and yes, he might be good-looking as hell and he makes everyone laugh—My point is that there's nothing special about him, right?"

Dom stares. "Was that, uh, supposed to make Summer feel better?"

I would've laughed at Skye's antics to make me happier, but I think we both know fully well enough that it was rather pointless to obsess over James. When you think about it, I'm being rather pathetic. Right?

"No, no, Skye's right, I've got to get a grip on myself." I mutter, forcing a smile on my face.

Skye beams, "That's my girl. C'mon, let's go get you some warm Butterbeer."

* * *

The next day, everyone in Hogwarts wakes up to a pleasant surprise.

"SNOWBALL FIGHT!" Fred shouts loudly as he jammed a beanie onto his hair, racing Lily Potter to the outside grounds.

"Brilliant!" Skye whispers, putting on a knitted sweater, "Let's go, Summer! I want kick some Fred Weasley arse."

"But we haven't had breakfast yet!" I complain, eyes wide.

"We'll catch some toast later! Come on!" She dug around her closet for an old scarf and drapes it around my neck before tucking her legs into boots.

"Wait—hold on, why are you so eager to get outside?" I narrow my eyes; "You're usually the one who complains about no breakfast."

"What? I just don't want to miss a snow ball fight." She blinks her eyes innocently at me, but I'm not fooled.

Does she really think that I'd let her pass that easily? I've literally known this girl before I was born. I can practically read her like a book.

"Or maybe you just don't want to miss a snow ball fight concerning Fred Weasley." I grin, positive I'm spot-on.

And would you look at that? I am. The two pink patches on her face tell me all I need to know.

"You like Fred, don't you?" I almost squeal with excitement, highly conscious of the fact I am acting like a twelve year old.

Hehe. Well, I'm _sorry_, BUT SKYE COSTELLA IS SECONDS AWAY FROM ADMITTING HER AFFECTIONS TO A FRED WEASLEY. How can you notsqueal?

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Skye mutters feebly, averting her eyes from mine and fiddling with her mittens.

"Well, I'm not moving unless you tell me the truth." I singsong. Knowing Skye, she'll probably burst. Three, two…

"Fine. I like him, ok?" Skye huffs, throwing her hands up in exasperation.

I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT.

"EEEEEEEEEEEE!" I tackle my twin into a bone-crushing hug and even I can't see her face, I know she's trying hard not to grin.

"We'll talk about this later, okay?" I release her gleefully, my brain still in party-mode. "In the meantime, let's go kick some arse in the snow."

"Okay, so here's what going to happen. Girls versus boys, yeah?" Fred rubs his hands together, surveying us with a wicked glint in the eye.

Oh Merlin. Skye fancies him.

Fine, I'm stopping.

(But seriously, just imagine how happy Fred would be if he knew.)

"Aaaaaand GO!" Fred screams and starts pelting snowballs at us, laughing as he did so.

I duck just in time for the snowball to swoop neatly above me and square onto the face of one disgruntled Rose Weasley.

Whoooops.


End file.
